Buoyant stock market, economy doubles billionaires in India

London, Nov 20(ANI): The Forbes' Rich List has revealed that a buoyant stock market and a still-robust economy have almost doubled the number of billionaires in India.

According to the rankings, with the stock market having gained more than 75 per cent this year and the economy growing at nearly 7 per cent, the number of billionaires jumped from 27 in 2008 to 52 this year.

There is no surprise in the battle for the top spot, as Reliance Industries' Chairman Mukesh Ambani topped the list again with a net worth of 32 billion dollars, while Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal followed with 30 billion dollars.

Mukesh's brother Anil Ambani rounded off the top three with an estimated net worth of 17.5 billion dollars.

"Happy days are definitely back again for India's richest," The Telegraph quoted Nazneen Karmali, India editor of Forbes Asia, as saying.

"This year's list shows that when conditions in the financial markets and the economy are right, India has the scale and resources to produce billionaires faster than most countries," he added.

The list also indicated that the combined net worth of India's 100 wealthiest people is 276 billion dollars, about a quarter of the country's GDP and greater than China's 170 billion dollar.